Latest kitty rescue fills Ulster SPCA to the max

KINGSTON — A sudden influx of 22 sick and dying cats and kittens from a Kingston home has pushed the Ulster County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to the limits of its capacity.

BY JEREMIAH HORRIGAN

KINGSTON — A sudden influx of 22 sick and dying cats and kittens from a Kingston home has pushed the Ulster County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to the limits of its capacity.

The animals were noticed by an SPCA volunteer while walking on Vincent Street last week. Two of the kittens have since died.

Because the animals are suffering from a variety of illnesses and infections, they've been quarantined and will need to be treated for several weeks, said SPCA operations manager Marie Shultis.

Rooms and offices in the Wiedy Road facility are occupied by everything from the new arrivals to cockatiels to rabbits to dogs. "It's a huge problem, and it's taken a toll," Shultis said Monday. "We're struggling to stay open."

Shultis said there's more involved in taking in stray and abused animals than people may realize. She estimated it costs the SPCA about $10 a day to house and feed animals, and as much as $200 to $300 to treat such ailments as ringworm or parasite infestation. Some treatments can take as long six weeks. Re-infection resulting from crowded conditions is always a possibility, too.

"And that's not counting spaying or neutering," she said.

The immediate solution, Shultis said, would be if more people agreed to foster cats and kittens that have been medically approved for release.

Fostering an animal is usually temporary, with the animal being returned to the shelter after no more than three months. Sometimes, fostering can also lead to a permanent new home, she said.